Showed my Tundra to a friend of a friend. He's a gear head I suppose. He said that the gear ratio of the Tundra is built for speed. Maybe that's why Toyota claims better acceleration. Maybe that's why I feel like my truck is quick. But then again any brand new vehicle feels quick. I couldn't care less because I bought a truck, not a race car.

Camping trip was a blast. Took the truck off road (basically rough asphalt haha!) Managed to not put any pinstripes on the side. A taller truck feels funnier though going down an ditch sideways. Gear head guy (he has a huge Blazer by the way) said I don't need 4x4 if I get the rear locked?! My other friend with the brand new F150 had a blast too.

The gearing for the Tundra with 265 70 tires is almost the same as a Silverado with 4.1 gears and 265 75 tires. I am using the term gearing loosely, taking tire size and overdrive into account. The Tundra should be at about 1817 RPM at 60 MPH VS the Silverado at 1828 RPM. I would think this means the Tundra gearing is built for power not speed. I don't know the specs of Dodge and Ford, but I think they would be close to GM. I laugh to myself every time I see a post from Bammatundra about how low the gears need to be in the Chevy in order to tow 800 pounds more than the Tundra. He must not know his Tundra is almost the same overall gearing as the truck he is criticizing.

For them that plans on workin them trucks get ya a "full size" one. Them big3 ones be the ones for haulin them horses about. If ya be haulin a pony, that tundra should do ya fine now. Good luck on this one now!

and so far so good. But then again I only use my truck to go to work. I have gone off road, or off the pavement really, when I went camping. It was enough to carry my stuff.

I live in the horse ranch area. I have seen a couple of Tundras used to tow a 2 horse trailer set up. I think for hauling those horse semi trailers (5th wheel?), a bigger Ford or GM or Dodge should be the one used.

Well, I've been reading in this forum for sometime now. (longtime listener, first time caller) Before I bought my Tundra, and now, after. So I thought that I'd actually say something about my truck. I'm extremely happy with my Tundra! (Thunder Gray, SR5, V8, 4X4, w/ convenience pkg.) That's not to say that I haven't had any problems with it though. I just came back from a fantastic week in Yosemite w/ my fiance', and my oldest friend (he has a TRD Tacoma). I had a completely filled bed: from a row of split madrone logs and a bag of kindling, to three full coolers, etc., etc. The Tundra took as much gear as I wanted to bring. I used to have a standard cab 4X4 Dodge Dakota, and it's so nice to also have the extra cab for stuff (& me too, I'm 6'2"/250+lbs, have enough room now). I don't know what the rolling weight was but I got about 17-18 on the way there. Offroad, the Tundra really shined! I spend a lot of time on unmaintained National Forest roads searching for creeks and waterfalls. Lots of very deep ruts, baseball to basketball sized rocks and boulders, parts were so steep all you could see was sky through the windshield! Had to stop and put it in four wheel low for that one, my friend said that I didn't even spin a wheel; very exciting! The only things that stopped me were, trees down, (forgot my chainsaw) or brush just too damn close to the center of the "trail". I can't justify destroying such a nice paint job 3 months new. (as it was, the paint took some mighty abuse with nary a mark that couldn't be easily rubbed out) Trail crawling, my mileage was something unbelievable. At half tank, driving the paved road back to our campsite, I was already at over 300 miles! I put a mark on the rear bumper, and lost the right front mudflap. (Oh yeah, if you accidently bend the exhaust pipe forward a bit, it will melt holes in your RR mudflap.) The engine is an engineering marvel! It never fails to make me happy when, after driving like a normal well adjusted citizen, I need to pass someone on the curvy, steep, 2400 elevation hill that I drive over, from/to my house/office and back, everyday. I load the bed with firewood, half yards of gravel, (1250 lbs) garbage cans, and never feel anything even approaching a strain. One pet peeve, is my inability to find a way to (semi) permanently turn off the bed light switch for when you open the door. Anybody? Just like being able to force most of the interior lights off if you wish. To make a short list of the bad things so far: Brand new, the truck was missing some not minor/not major suspension components from the factory. Items around the front sway bar like bushings, washers, and bumper(s). Pretty noisy, but didn't actually affect handling. Of course fixed under warranty, but still have to take time off work, etc. Now, the alignment is still a bit off, and has balded the edges of the front tires prematurely. I am going to try to have them replaced under warranty, wish me luck! I think that the brakes may be pulsing just slightly too. It's hard to tell because it's inconsistent, and I know from having previous heavy 4X4 trucks that you can feel even the most invisible road defects. It was nice to finally post!

The Tundra is an excellent tow vehicle. Trailer Life magazine did an article a few months back where they were towing a 6500 lb. trailer through the Sierra Nevadas. They were very impressed with the Tundra towing capability.

I'm in the market for a new pickup, and am wondering if a Tundra will suit my needs. Specifically, I need to tow 2 tons of hay with a one ton trailer- that's 6,000+ lbs, up and down 6% grades over 10-15 miles at 4,200 to 7,500 ft elevations. Has anyone out there had any experience "maxing out" the towing capacity? Will this truck do what I need it to do? Any help from Tundra owners would be appreciated.

I own a Chevy 3/4 ton that has been doing this job, and I also own a 4RNR, but the block just cracked, and since it's an '87 with rust and 190K mi., it's pretty much totaled, and needs replacing. I thought then, that I'd replace both.

The Milkman need not reply...I'm originally from CT, and I don't care what you drive, you don't know what a hill is. I served my country with a 5 year stint in the military, so don't go there either. The folks in Kentucky appreciated the business I gave them when I purchased a Camry for my wife, and I haven't the slightest clue or care where the Tundra is built. If it will suit my needs, I think I'll buy one. If it doesn't suit my needs, I think I'll buy a Dodge!!!!!!

The Tundra is rated for 7100 lbs and I know for a fact it will do as you ask of it. The problem is that you are used to a 3/4 ton truck and I know the Tundra will not do as good a job as any 3/4 ton truck. If I were you I would save yourself any possible buyers remorse and look into a Ford Superduty. You can get a pretty good deal, they are probably the best built besides the Tundra and they will pretty much tow that little bit of weight without you knowing it is there.

This is coming from a very satisfied Tundra owner who has traditionally been a Chevy guy so please don't feel my comments are biased towards one make or another. I just calls em like a sees em.

I'll echo the last two posts and add my two cents on towing. I don't tow as much as you are asking but I do tow a boat that weighs just over 4200 pounds on the trailer. I travel long distances with it and can cruise at 80 with the overdrive off. Hills and on ramps are no problem. Sway is nearly non-existent and braking is very good.

One of the nice things about this truck is the throttle. The Tundra gas pedal is actually a "fly by wire" type which means you are not in direct contact with the throttle. If you mash the pedal to the floor, it does not let you open the throttle more than the engine can use. You will not find it bogging down while the engine gains RPMs to give you the requested power. It is a unique feeling and makes it surprisingly responsive when towing.

Just remember that you are driving a half ton truck, not a 3/4 or one ton.

For Memorial Day, I made the LA to Lake Meade (Las Vegas) run with my boat, 354 miles each way. I have a Limited 4x4 Access Cab, which weighs 4664 according to Toyota. I tow a 21 foot boat with a cuddy cabin, so it has a high profile. The boat & trailer weighs 4800 lbs. with gear and gas. In addition, I had about 1,000 lbs. of gear in the truck + a 250 lb. shell/cap. So total weight was about 10,700 lbs. The Limited has a 11,800 GCWR.

I towed through the CA, NV and AZ desert (100-120 degree heat), up 6-7% interstate grades that go from about 500 to up to 4,500 even 6 or 7,000 feet. I lock out the overdrive. I never had any problem going whatever speed I wanted, and actually had to remember to watch the speedo to keep below 70 mph as the motor would just keep pulling. I didn't let the rpms drop below 2300 in third gear and downshifted to 2nd on the "hill" before Vegas and ran, as I recall, about 4,000 to 4200 rpm and 70 mph all the way up the mountain, no problem. As with my previous T100, even with the AC on, the temp never budged from the middle of the gauge in the 110 degree + heat. Gas mileage was 11.3 with the AC on at 60-65 mph (CA) and 10.2 at 65-73 mph (NV). (That's fast enough on bias-ply trailer tires!) On the return trip we hit 35 mph + headwinds with higher gusts so my gas mileage dropped to around 9.5 at 60-65 mph with the AC on. The truck was still stable in the winds.

I liked both the F150 and the F250SD. The reason I didn't buy one was because unladen, my friends V10 F250SD only gets a combined city/hwy of 9.6 mpg; and Ford had F150 5.4 short block failures in '99. Plus the size of the F250SD is too big for some off road trails I travel. In 3 years with my '96 T100 4x4, towing the same boat over the same route, it never once as much as hiccupped - and the temp gauge never moved either, even with the AC on up the mountains when it was 135 degrees. The reliability I experienced was the final reason I chose the Tundra over a Ford. Let me know if you have any questions!

I am interested in purchasing a 2wd V6 manual reg cab tundra, total stripper model. Everyone seems to talk about the V8, I don,t hear talking about buying a base tundra. Invoice is $14,500ish, doesn't sound too bad. same engine as a 30,000 forerunner, for an everyday handyman truck looks like a pretty decent truck. I was thinking about buying a tacoma, but you can get an 8 foot bed and the V6 cheaper than you can buy a V6 tacoma. I would really appreciate any and all serious information on this particular model, enginewise, workmanship ... Thanks in advance, John

I've seen alot of the regular cab V-6 Tundras, but still not near as many as the access cab V-8. I think it would be a great truck with better gas mileage to boot. Plus you can always add the supercharger for 265 HP

TundraDude, I guess I'm out to lunch because I am not familiar with the vibration problems. Do you think this is still a current problem or has toyota rectified it ? Again, thank you for your time and help, John.

A 5 speed will be fine on level ground but I would avoid it for pulling boats from the water. the V6 will do the 4200 # you are looking at but it will be pushing it. If it were me, I'd pay the extra $2K and get the V8. In the long run, I think you would be happier with the performance of the V8 and in 5 or 6 years, you will have forgotten about the $2K.

I towed a pop up camper and a boat with my V6 Tacoma. I must say it felt like I was pushing it going up hill. It was adequate because it wasn't a daily thing. But having a V8 option on the Tundra was nice.

After owning a T100 4x4 V6 5 speed and owning a Tundra 4x4 automatic I would definitely buy the V8 and automatic for $2000 more. Ther's only about 3 mpg difference (towing 4800 lbs.) Most people tow with an automatic because the torque converter multiplies the engine torque 'till it locks up, which will give you more pulling power and flexibility than with a 5 speed. I had to shift the T100's 5 speed a lot on the interstate to keep it in the powerband. Plus you will make up the $2000 on resale, since 6 cylinder full size trucks are harder to sell - everyone wants a V8.

Go for the V8. I own an access cab V8 4WD and I can attest that the V8 is sweet! The engine is derived from a Lexus (bulletproof reliability) and with the 32 valve DOHC powerplant it hauls [non-permissible content removed]! The truck I have is probably at least 4600 lb. and the truck jumps when I press on the accelerator.

It is extremely torquey down low and yet it loves to rev. $2000 is an amazing bargain for this engine and it is one of the main reasons I bought a Tundra.

If you are comparing a V6 SR5 with a V8 SR5, you will get more for your money if you get the V8 regardless of the towing.

I tow with my V6, and it does great and I did save thousands of dollars.

Ask yourself this question: Am I purchasing a trailer someday in the near future that may weigh in around 6000 lbs? Then go with the V8, otherwise its a feature call between the two different SR5 models. This is assuming that the base model is out of your analysis.

I am hoping by the time I upgrade into a bigger trailer (more weight), they will have a Toyota heavy duty version. Even the T100 had a one ton model. I have never seen one though. I know that this model had no extra towing capabilities but Toyota did make it.